Eye of the Beholder I

I had noticed something amusing lately, about the children of the Harriga. You know how small domesticated animals will always flock to the very people who least like them? Small people do it too. The busier and more irritable a person was.. The more likely that little children were to hang around them. While this amused me greatly.. not everyone shared my sense of humor.

So today I was going to do the world of Tuchuck a favor and round up as many of the children I could. I sent Lei off to fetch Also and let Fonce, Mezoo and Magda where I would be for the morning. I built up the fire for my wagon and made sure there was plenty of water in the barrel, and several bowls of snacks. I had more spiced jerky then I could eat in a lifetime. Beside me sat a small gilded hand mirror courtesy of Fonces supply wagons. He was not kidding that he had a lot of stuff. I was truly grateful for Catch too.. She had been doing many small tasks, unasked, for me and Lei and it allowed me to take these little side trips.. Today I was going to tell a story.

I am not a singer, anymore then I am an artist. Today though I would paint with my words and make the eyes of the young sparkle. Today I would give them laughter and a smile and distraction. Lei had heard most of my stories before and was eager to begin; she had brought Also with her, the two quietest children I had ever known. They sat together, but not in the front as you might expect. The two of them were not the type to be in the center. I waited for all the children to settle and, with a grin in my heart I pretended not to see the adults that were lingering. Everyone loves a good story. I sat on my steps, wearing a dress I had dyed a vibrant blue and with a rainbow of ribbons twisted into my braid. The breeze settled, giving me permission to begin…

“Some people call this story ‘Eye of the Beholder’ but I think today we will call it… ‘Is That Beautiful or what?’” I grinned and then settled my hands in my lap.

“Twice upon a time, there lived a very beautiful little girl. Her eyes were as blue as a mountain lake, her skin was as white as the snow falling to the ground in winter, and her hair was as yellow as gold all the way from the northern cities.. Her name was Sarah Simile. Her father, Ubar Simile, was ruler of the Tribe of Metaphoria which was a large nation occupying most of the continent of Figureofspeach.” I was pleased to hear a few chuckles from the grown ups who were listening.

“Now, you may not have heard of any of these people or places. But that's because it was a very long time ago. It was so long ago that what I'm about to tell you actually was able to happen twice and still be a long time ago. But you only have to listen to it once.” Lei smirked, having heard it at least twice already.

“Now, Sarah, as I was saying, was very beautiful. When she became fourteen, her father--as all good Ubars at the time did--decided that it was time for her to take a mate. So, keeping with tradition, a message was sent throughout the land and all neighboring lands that Sarah was up for grabs. Well, you can imagine all the clowns who turned up at the First Fires. Most of them were what you would call 'good looking.' They were handsome: they had eyes as blue as summer skies, skin as tan as tropical beaches, and hair as wavy as the thassa. As Sarah looked at each suitor, her heart skipped several beats. They all were such hunks! She was sure that she could be happy with every one of them. As she gazed out the window at the marvelous specimens with their muscles rippling like plains grasses, she happened to notice one who was very different: his eyes were as dull and gray as an old water pail. His skin was covered with blemishes and, his
hair--well, it was almost not there, like her father's. Let's face it: this guy was UGLY!” I gasped with the word and put a hand to my chest. Several of the children giggled.

"’He must be a servant to one of the others,’ she said to herself. ‘Surely, this creature cannot expect me to consider him!’ Sarah decided that the best way to choose her new mate was to talk to each one by him. For, she had decided to follow her father's wishes. None of that Women's Liberation stuff for her! She would do as she was told. Besides, they all were such hunks! All, except of course old pail eyes whom she would most certainly dispose of in good time. She thought, however, to keep him until last so that she could really humiliate him and have a good time to boot!”

Some of the older boys, just about to get their first scars, frowned at me. They did not like where this was going and I did not blame them. I winked though, a silent promise to make it right of they stuck around.

“Now, Sarah had an aunt who had never mated, although she was certainly good looking. She had hair like...oh, let's not go through all that again...you get the picture. Aunt Nevermind did have a lot of friends--both men and women--and they all thought a great deal of her. Some of them were beautiful or handsome, and others were plain or very ugly. Aunt Nevermind, however, treated them all the same: she loved them all. She seemed to be a very wise lady, she was a spex as well and when she heard of Sarah's situation, she came to see her, bringing her a gift.

‘Oh, what a beautiful mirror!’ exclaimed Sarah. ‘I am so glad you brought it to me, for mine is getting old and foggy.’ and as I am sure you guessed, Sarah really liked looking at herself.

‘Now,’ said Aunt Nevermind very carefully, ‘this is a very special mirror, for it has the quality of showing things as they really are, not as they appear to be. I have used this mirror to choose all of my lovers during my lifetime, and it has never failed me. Since you are in agreement with your father and you wish to bind yourself to just one man for the rest of your life, I thought you would definitely need it!"

Here I paused, yawning dramatically. Creating a little suspense…

(OOC! I borrowed this story from a book of modern fairy tales but I am altering it to better fit the Tuchuck. This will be a 3 or 4 part post and I invite anyone to use it in their own journals. Maybe your char listened, or just walked by, or heard about it later. If you want your NPC children there I would be happy to add them into the crowd. Thanks!)